Basic Muffin Batter And Variations Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter muffin pans. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the egg, milk, and butter, stirring only enough to dampen the flour; the batter should not be smooth. Spoon into the muffin pans, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes each.
• Blueberry Muffins.
• Use 1/2 cup sugar. Reserve 1/4 cup of the flour, sprinkle it over 1 cup blueberries, and stir them into the batter last.
• Pecan Muffins.
• Use 1/4 cup sugar. Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the batter. After filling the cups, sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, and more chopped nuts.
• Whole-Wheat Muffins.
• Use 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour and 1 cup white flour.
• Date or Raisin Muffins.
• Add 1/2 cup chopped pitted dates or 1/3 cup raisins to the batter.
• Bacon Muffins.
• Add 3 strips bacon, fried crisp and crumbled, to the batter.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
• Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. In a small bowl or 2 cup measuring cup, beat egg with a fork. Stir in milk and oil. Pour all at once into the well in the flour mixture. Mix quickly and lightly with a fork until moistened, but do not beat. The batter will be lumpy. Pour the batter into paper lined muffin pan cups.
• Variations: Blueberry Muffins: Add 1 cup fresh blueberries. Raisin Muffins: Add 1 cup finely chopped raisins. Date Muffins: Add 1 cup finely chopped dates. Cheese Muffins: Fold in 1 cup grated sharp yellow cheese. Bacon Muffins: Fold 1/4 cup crisp cooked bacon, broken into bits.
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with rack in lower third. Butter and flour a standard 12-cup muffin pan, tapping out excess. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients; make a well in the center. Add egg mixture to well. With a rubber spatula, gently stir ingredients just until batter is moistened (do not overmix; a few lumps are fine). Add mix-ins, if desired.
• Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full; sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Loosen muffins, and tip them on their sides to cool in pan. Serve warm or at room temperature (muffins are best the day they are made).

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line 2 muffin trays with paper muffin cases. In a large bowl beat 2 medium eggs lightly with a handheld electric mixer for 1 min.
• Add 125ml vegetable oil and 250ml semi-skimmed milk and beat until just combined then add 250g golden caster sugar and whisk until you have a smooth batter.
• Sift in 400g self-raising flour and 1 tsp salt (or 400g plain flour and 3 tsp baking powder if using) then mix until just smooth. Be careful not to over-mix the batter as this will make the muffins tough.
• Stir in 100g chocolate chips or dried fruit if using.
• Fill muffin cases two-thirds full and bake for 20-25 mins, until risen, firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the trays will not fit on 1 shelf, swap the shelves around after 15 mins of cooking.
• Leave the muffins in the tin to cool for a few mins and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.